PlayStation Revised Plans for Live Service Games With Only 6 Titles Coming by FY 2025

Sony CFO and COO Hiroki Totoki talked extensively about the PlayStation Business and commented on the layoffs at Bungie and the plans for live service games, on top of the transition to Jim Ryan's successor as CEO.

[Kaii]

12 was Idiotic and screams the following, https://www.youtube.com/wat...

GaaS Is unattractive and unnecessary when you deliver constant single player bangers, but it really wouldn't hurt to have alternative IP's every now and then, like Killzone MP.

[crazyCoconuts]

I didn't realize their GaaS plan was really that aggressive. In hindsight lots of you were right to dislike Jim's leadership so much. That plan was outrageous. Even six seems too high.

[Profchaos]

Sure was essentially it took all their talent and forced them to go work on ripping off trending games until they struck gold or more likely Sega'd themselves out of the market

[wiz7191]

@Kali how else do you see Sony making money then so they can invest more into the PlayStation brand ? SP player only games doesn’t bring in enough money obviously so or else they wouldn’t even be looking into it in the first place. Sony loses $60 on each PS5 sold , they need a someway to recoup that money. On top of how expensive games are to make these days.

[Obscure_Observer]

"Even six seems too high."

You mean twelve, right?

3 first party GaaS games will be released per year till 2025. The other six are still coming though.

According to Totoki, nothing has changed as Playstation will remain committed to their GaaS plans, and all the 12 GaaS games are still in development.

[crazyCoconuts]

I'm realizing he didn't actually say they're changing the GaaS push, just that it's not happening as quickly as planned. Sigh.

[isarai]

Ugh 😮‍💨

[Christopher]

What? They're pushing less but they're not changing the GaaS push? Do people not understand words?

Before: 12 GaaS games by 2025!
Now: 6 GaaS games by 2025!
crazyCoconuts: These look the same to me!

[raWfodog]

@Christopher

I think crazyCoconuts was referring to the fact that Sony PS are still pushing for 12 Gaas games but they simply revised it to focus on 6 to be delivered by FY2025.

[crazyCoconuts]

@Chris, from the article "He admitted that Sony hasn't been able to meet the gamers' expectations on this front" regarding the 12.
That to me reads like he still believes we want GaaS, but they just haven't been able to build them fast enough. So train is still heading off the track, just not as fast.
I'm just going on the wording in the article. I'd like to see his actual words I guess... possible there's a different message there

[Christopher]

@raWfodog: His words didn't say that. They referred to the actual push, his own phrasing there. If you decrease the push, then they are changing the push.

[Profchaos]

It should mean we see some traditional games getting worked on alongside the gaas push I hope whereas before it was nothing but.

Sony have never done gaas well it's just not in their wheelhouse it's like asking Capcom to make cod and getting a resident evil multiplayer shooter that died on launch like back in the PS3

[isarai]

@Christopher

I was hoping the same, but it does say in the article that he says

"As a result, only 6 of the live service games will are now planned to be released by fiscal year 2025 (which ends in March 2026 for Sony), while PlayStation is still working out when to release the remaining 6. Totoki-san believes that achieving quality that can satisfy gamers should be the most important factor in this. "

Bummer, it's a huge waste of resources for something their typical fans don't even like, that together with the success rate of live service games these days, they'll be extremely lucky to get even one moderate success out of all 12, It just seems incredibly misguided.

[H9]

@Christopher buddy you need to chill, he means that Sony is not backing up from their GaaS push instead they just delayed half of them

[Christopher]

***Sony is not backing up from their GaaS push instead they just delayed half of them ***

But... delaying them is backing off on them. Now they'll do 12 in four years instead of 12 in two plus however many in the other two years.

Now, I 100% get that he is commenting that he thinks he's not meeting player expectations, but they are 100% not pushing GaaS as hard now by only focusing on 6.

If Sony had planned 12 SP game releases before by 2025 and then they delay them, they are pushing back their SP games and aren't supporting them at the same level they said they would. Why? Because that time they'll take to make them in future years now takes place of other games.

[Obscure_Observer]

"I'm realizing he didn't actually say they're changing the GaaS push, just that it's not happening as quickly as planned. Sigh."

Exactly!

[Eonjay]

From my point of view, I wanted them to invest is something besides single player narrative games. I want full throated RPGs, I want FPS. I didn't mind them dipping in GaaS as they already pointed out that their goal was to use that revenue to invest in MORE single player games. Plus contrary to what people will have you believe, we PlayStation gamers play more than just single player games. Know this Sony should be addressing as many of their customers as possible.

The six games I can think of are:
Marathon
Concord (its supposed to be multiplayer FPS but I think this counts)
MLB
Hell Divers
Fair Games
Last of Us

I am interested in Hell Divers 2, Last of Us, Concord, and Marathon. But we are talking about 6 games from now till April 2026. So thats sounds fine to me.

[MrNinosan]

GT7 is considered GaaS as well I believe

[--Onilink--]

Its still 12 titles, its just that previously all 12 were somehow supposed to arrive by 2025 and now half of them are 2026+

[-Foxtrot]

I guess there’s some truth to those rumours that they were turning away from their GaaS plans

Obviously they can’t just drop everything they’ve started straight away but it’s promising at least

This is never something they should have started in the first place

[blackblades]

The 6 that's going to be release probably the ones that are far ahead in development. Last of us, concured, that bungie game probably 3 of them. Thought it was 10 not 12 both was a crazy number for the time frame. 3 would be fine, overall going by how he is saying I say he should stay the head for more then 1 year.

[LastAvenger]

Is HellDivers2 supposed to be Live Service? If so that would be 1 of 6. Not sure if that’s the intent though.

[crazyCoconuts]

Helldivers is another studio right? Would that count?

[Eonjay]

Yes Helldivers counts. They own the IP.

[crazyCoconuts]

Evidence of Sony owning Helldivers IP?

[Obscure_Observer]

@crazyCoconuts

"Evidence of Sony owning Helldivers IP?"

https://trademarks.justia.c...

[Redemption-64]

Read the article. They are not turning away from them and there was no truth to the rumors. They plan to release six and delay the rest to ensure quality. Saying they are turning away when they are just delaying the games to achieve quality that can satisfy gamers, as they stated is just lying to yourself

[GamingSinceForever]

Correct

[crazyCoconuts]

Yeah that sucks. How many live service games die within a year. This is not a good plan

[Redemption-64]

@crazyCoconuts

It's a good plan if you release good games. Also, this is the same strategy Sony used for their Single player games during the PS3/PS4 era. Where they invest in a lot of games, but only a small percentage become successful. Sony isn't expecting all live service games to be successful, but they can expected a small percentage, 1 or 2 to be successful. That is how you do things, not one or two and stop when those two fail.

Why are some people so scared of Sony making a successful live service game(s)?

[OptimusDK]

@Foxtrot I get what you mean it's positive IF they are turning away from GaaS
- but is it what it says? Or is it, that they will not deliver as many Games as expected.

Maybe read what he says:
Sony previously announced plans to launch 12 live service games by fiscal year 2025, but Totoki-san confirmed that this is being reviewed. He admitted that Sony hasn't been able to meet the gamers' expectations on this front, but the company is doing its best to create games that will be played for a long time.

As a result, only 6 of the live service games will are now planned to be released by fiscal year 2025 (which ends in March 2026 for Sony), while PlayStation is still working out when to release the remaining 6. Totoki-san believes that achieving quality that can satisfy gamers should be the most important factor in this.

[ABizzel1]

There is no truth, they are still attempting to release all 12, but only 6 will come before the end of 2025 with the others still in development for quality and TBD.

[wiz7191]

@Foxtrot Sony needs more money , you PS only fans needs to better support your console bro. Reason why they can’t compete with MS when it comes to acquisition.

[shadowT]

Sounds like they dramatically reduced the GaaS plans.

[Redemption-64]

They are not. Are people seriously not even reading the article? They are releasing 6 by 2025 if I am not mistaken and delaying the rest to ensure quality, if anything they are spending more time on them and figuring out the best time to release them later.

[Vits]

You are on N4G. You will be lucky if people read the title, let alone the article.

But being serious. Sony appears to still be going full ahead with those plans and let's face it. The guys have an enormous chunk of the console marketing, so of course they would try to maximize their profits with a GaaS title... or 12.

[CrashMania]

6 is still too many imo but this is only a good thing regardless.

[ABizzel1]

They are still releasing 12, but only 6 will be up to quality from now to 2025. The other 6 will be determined later.

[Mr_cheese]

Bring on the single player games

[Eonjay]

Bring on the games. Not just single player games. PlayStation gamers play more multiplayer games too. One reason I am excited for Sony to get back into multiplayer gamers is because they make quality games and if we get as much love in multiplayer games as they put into single player that is a win for all.

[Hofstaderman]

Yes! Give us the highly polished single player story driven games that we know and love. I font mind one or two GaaS titles but I didnt buy a ps5 for those.

[maniacmayhem]

Well looks like you actually did because 12 GaaS games is still in the pipeline.

[Obscure_Observer]

"I font mind one or two GaaS titles but I didnt buy a ps5 for those."

Get used to it. The 12 GaaS games is still coming to the PS5.

[Hofstaderman]

Seething arent you that Sony are staying the course that has kept them an industry leader whilst denying Papa Phil? Could you tell me if Phils tears are sweet as I imagine them to be? I mean you must console him often....

[OhReginald]

Please bring back Japan Studios for the love of.....

[Redemption-64]

That will only ever be a dream. As much as love their games, they were not selling and I noticed people only talk about them more now, but most never cared to support them

[Plague-Doctor27]

I wonder if these are 6 new titles or just a total of 6 live service games. They already count MLB and GT7 as live service, so maybe only 4 more are coming by FY25.

Helldivers 2 is coming, so probably 3 of Concord, TLOU Factions, FairGame$, and Horizon MP?

Either way, according to another article they are still planning on 12 and arent budging from that

“That’s the total number of live service and multiplayers titles [and] mid-to-long-term we want to [push] this kind of service and that’s the unchanged policy of the company. It’s not like we stick to certain titles, but game quality should be the most important [thing].”

https://www.videogameschron...

[Brazz]

6 games coming by march 2026, likely.
Helldivers. (Coming 2024)
Concord.
Fairgame$.
Marathon.
Destiny: Final Shape.
Something not annouced ( Horizon multiplayer? Perhaps LoUS multiplayer? Other game?)

No Idea about the other 6 games, but Bungie New IP "Matter" is likely here.

[Plague-Doctor27]

It's hard to tell if Bungie games are included in these figures. They had previously stated the 12 in development were "Playstation Studios" games and Bungie is considered a separate entity from that

[Flawlessmic]

And I hope they all fail tbh, just give me my AAA single player banger!!!

[Lightning77]

That's the last thing you want. I'm hoping they succeed for the sake of the studio growth and not having lay offs. If they succeed they can use that money to fund traditional sp projects.

[sagapo]

2 things suprised me with this article; PS5 still gets sold with a loss and “only” 40% of PS5 users has PSN sub? (Always figured this would be higher truth be told). Or am I reading this incorrectly?

[LastAvenger]

Clarification on the numbers would be cool. Not important but good to know.

[smolinsk]

Just bring quality games all around, and I'm ready for something New.

[Braxmapoutras]

6 is still a lot for annoying live service games..... Truly sad how we are almost done with the ps5 cycle and we are not anywhere near the awesomeness of the ps4 games at the same amount of time.
I love playstation but i feel like they are kinda blowing it this generation.... They have an amazing platform and almost no games to take advantage of it
.. half the exclusives until now came out for the ps4 too and the ones coming out now I'm not really interested in..(for example Spiderman).. And nothing on the horizon of importance or at least of impact to look forward to..... Like they had Bloodborne.... Or even at least like demon's in the beginning of the generation.....Now nothing of the same caliber.... Please Sony... Please fix your shit.... I'm waiting for every Sony showcase with anticipations just to be disappointed..... Again and again....

[GoodGuy09]

Ouch

[ravens52]

Good. 6 is much more reasonable and manageable. Wish it was like 3 but it's cool, good to have a variety. Even if some are gaas.

[CrimsonWing69]

Good luck, Sony. I’m not buying a single one of these.

I don’t really understand the thought process of releasing these types of games with the idea that players will continuously play these over time and dump money into them. I get going with one to see if it works, but this amount seems like you’re setting yourself up for failure.

A lot of people, including myself, supported the brand because you offered incredible traditional type games. It just seems like such a slap in the face to make this the majority of your first-party releases.

[Walalon]

They are not moving away from GaaS, they are just releasing them on different times so "the gamerz" don't feel the invasion of those kind of games. That's an intelligent move to be honest but only shows that they are doubling down on them showing them more "slowly" than Microsoft(and ton of publishers) bombarding us with those type of crap.

[crazyCoconuts]

"Totoki-san also explained why the loss Sony suffers for each PS5 unit has increased in the latest quarter... It's due to a technical reason related to currency exchange rates and the long lead times for the purchase of parts."
Didn't realize they're still selling at a loss. Explains maybe why those slim models aren't cheaper

[jznrpg]

I don’t mind them making some multiplayer games. Stuff like Warhawk and Socom are beloved franchises by many so why wouldn’t they do some more games like that ? I definitely don’t want it to be the focus but there’s room for those types of games too. The rumored Twisted Metal game I would check out. Sony knows what got them to the top and that’s the best SP games. But I do think they should try some MP games as well but it has to be a side thing. They have enough studios to do both.

[ApocalypseShadow]

What some of these gamers haven't figured out is that online games ARE GaaS games. Paid items. Free items. Any game that is dragged out for longevity is a GaaS game. GT7 is. Rocket League is. Because they continue to feed new content to keep gamers interested.

If a new Killzone or Resistance were released, the online portion would make those games considered GaaS games. Because I know more content would be pushed. Items, seasons, etc. Totoki said longevity. That means they don't want to release an online game that doesn't even last with the players beyond the first year.

Some of these gamers don't get it. They think Sony was dropping single player altogether. Which was ridiculous. They are going to still make those online games. But Sony is thinking that revenue would be used to make more single player games or invest in indie or third party support.

I'm single player only but even I can understand what they are doing. A lot of these individuals see the word GaaS and automatically assume it's just a micro transactions filled game. Crying about single player when there's other gamers out there that play multiplayer like Madden or FIFA or cod or any of those online multiplayer games.

[InUrFoxHole]

Sony fans actually spoke up for once and were listened to

[glennhkboy]

Sony clearly doesn't understand the business side of GaaS. All other big publishers (Microsoft, EA, Ubisoft) are only supporting 1-2 GaaS game at a time. 6 GaaS means each one will cannibalize each other, let alone compete with others, already established games.

[isarai]

" Sony previously announced plans to launch 12 live service games by fiscal year 2025, but Totoki-san confirmed that this is being reviewed. He admitted that Sony hasn't been able to meet the gamers' expectations on this front, "

Um, Live Service games from 1st party studios was not part of anyone's expectations, cancel all of them, we don't want them.

[Lightning77]

If those games gets cancelled then it'll take 6+ years for traditional games, plus jobs loss and lay offs will indeed happen. I'm open mined to at least see what these LS games are about when they show them off but they do need to look good.

Maybe some of those gaas games will Go the route of GTA and have a sp mode but the MP will be LS.

[isarai]

These GAAS games are being worked on ALONGSIDE their traditional SP games, several leaks and official word from ND confirms this. Most of Sonys 1st party has the capability to work on 2 major projects at once, however they swap priority depending on which is next to release. These GAAS titles sound like they are taking too much from their primary projects, mostly due to the fact that they are not familiar with this type of game. Canceling them will just mean shifting priority back to their primary projects that are already in production.

[Lightning77]

We only know ND is working on a Sp game GG is said to be working on a gaas title. Hopefully Sucker Punch and Bend are working on SP games along side gaas. We don't know 100% though.

We'll have to see.

[Barlos]

Good. The less the better.

[Zenzuu]

I rather Sony go back to their roots and do what they do best and that is they should stick to single player games. It's helped them through every generation since the Psone era.

Unless if you hit a killer game, Live Service Games in general don't really last that long, at least for consoles. Nintendo have managed to stay around this long because of their great first party IP's. They didn't need to do any Live Service games to remained profitable, so Sony shouldn't either.

I'm saying this as a long time Playstation who's played every single one of their consoles since the inception of the Psone.

[Petebloodyonion]

I hate the fact that you can't have access to the official call transcript of the official article.
But here is what I can deduce from the article:
1) It's important for Sony to sell PS5 consoles as much as possible to continue the growth of its player base.
We learned here that Sony isn't making money on console and it's becoming a juggling act.

2) Spiderman 2 is a massive hit with more than 5 million copies sold (that's great)

3) Layoff at Bungie WAS " A Sony's decision" since Sony asked Bungie and other studios for "initiatives to increase efficiency and competitivity (in short find ways to reduce annual cost) and it is safe to assume that each studio got a mandate to reduce cost by a define %.

4) GASS will continue but a a slower pace.

5) Jack Ryan was probably asked to step down since they have a 1-year transition guy. Normally you try to find a successor before leaving.

[X-23]

At least they've realized that this was a problem and instead of doubling down on it or trying to ride it out they're taking actions to set things straight.

[maniacmayhem]

Like I said when Jim Ryan left, Sony will not cancel their roadmap for GaaS. But what they're doing is making sure they are as engaging as possible with good monetizations in place as Bungie warned them about with Factions.

[gold_drake]

im glad they're not 100% adopting what Jim wanted to do.
i hate gaas games so much. especially if tbey are supposed to tie in with other games lore

[Profchaos]

This is good news for many long term PS fans who don't care for gaas titles.

I can understand why so many do want them but it's not a total elimination of gaas games but a reduction so everyone can hopefully be happy that is expect for us psvr2 owners so far I haven't heard a single rumour about any team working in new VR games or even ports of astrobot / blood and truth.

Regardless hopefully this means we start seeing some more traditional game announcements soon it this always disruptive enough that I believe we will be in a dry spell for at least another year or possibly 2 given that insomniac seems to be the only studio capable of releasing major projects without the need for 5 years of dev time

[northpaws]

Not necessarily live services but I had shit tons of fun with Sony first party MP, Uncharted 2/3/4 MP, Ghost's Legends, The last of us Faction...etc all very fun and enjoyable. So, hopefully they can find a good balance.

[Rimeskeem]

I would still be down for a MAG, Killzone, or Resistance MP in such format. I just want devs to make what they want to make.

[Abear21]

Every game has Gaas model now to some extent. Street Fighter to COD to even Cities Skyline 2 and games like Snowrunner and The Sims keeping gameplay updates behind paywalls. What happened to one season pass? Now games have two to three years of post content to sell. In the case of Cities Skyline 2 it seems gameplay has taken a step back from the fully updated first game—all to be re-sold with different paint all over again. This is anti-consumer bs that’s all too common nowadays in this industry.

[Games1st]

Not interested in live service games especially with paid multiplayer.